BARCODE Efficiency Act

Senate Bill

S. 452

119th Congress

BARCODE Efficiency Act

In Committee

Introduced:Feb 6, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Todd Young

Senator

Republican

IN

Cosponsors

1

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Taxation

Summary

The BARCODE Efficiency Act requires the IRS to use barcodes and scanning technology to digitize paper tax returns that were prepared electronically. It also requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns. These requirements apply unless technology proves slower or less reliable than manual processing.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

SponsorTodd Young (R-IN)

Introduced2/6/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

BARCODE Efficiency Act

The BARCODE Efficiency Act requires the IRS to use barcodes and scanning technology to digitize paper tax returns that were prepared electronically. It also requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns. These requirements apply unless technol

Community Breakdown

Pass

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Fail

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0 predictions

The BARCODE Efficiency Act requires the IRS to use barcodes and scanning technology to digitize paper tax returns that were prepared electronically. It also requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns. These requirements apply unless technology proves slower or less reliable than manual processing.

Bill Number: 452
Sponsor: Todd Young (R-IN)
Introduced: 2/6/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy Area: Taxation

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: BARCODE Efficiency Act
Bill Number: 452
Sponsor: Todd Young (R-IN)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced: 2/6/2025
Summary: The BARCODE Efficiency Act requires the IRS to use barcodes and scanning technology to digitize paper tax returns that were prepared electronically. It also requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns. These requirements apply unless technology proves slower or less reliable than

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

The BARCODE Efficiency Act requires the IRS to use barcodes and scanning technology to digitize paper tax returns that were prepared electronically. It also requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns. These requirements apply unless technology proves slower or less reliable than manual processing.

Last updated: 1/5/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance Efficiency Act or the BARCODE Efficiency ActThis bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to use barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology to digitize certain federal tax return information and correspondence, unless the technology is slower or less reliable than other IRS processes (subject to conditions). Specifically, the bill requires a scannable barcode on electronically-prepared federal tax returns that are printed and filed in paper format with the IRS. The bill also requires the IRS to use barcode scanning technology to convert data included on such returns into an electronic format.Further, the bill requires the IRS to use optical character recognition (or similar) technology to transcribe federal tax returns and correspondence received by the IRS that are not prepared electronically and are received in paper format.However, under the bill, the use of barcodes, barcode scanning technology, and optical character recognition (or similar) technology is not required if (1) such technology is slower or less reliable than manual transcription or any other IRS process, and (2) the IRS provides a report to Congress regarding the determination to not use such technology.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Requires scannable barcodes on electronically-prepared paper tax returns
Mandates IRS use barcode scanning for digital conversion
Requires optical character recognition for handwritten returns
Includes exception if technology is slower than manual processing
Aims to modernize IRS paper processing systems

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

The IRS would process paper tax returns more efficiently using modern scanning technology. Taxpayers could see faster processing and fewer errors from manual data entry of their returns.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Taxation

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

452, 119th Congress (2025). "BARCODE Efficiency Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-452

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